In line with the government’s decision to eliminate the need for residency stickers which causes long queues at immigration departments in various governorates, expats in Kuwait have begun to update their information details on their civil IDs, which will replace the requirement for residency stickers to be used to enter or exit the country from this point onward.
This comes as great news to some 2.7 million foreign workers in the country, who have to deal with long queues to process their documents at immigration departments in order to be allowed to stay and work in the country.
12,000 Residence Permits without Stickers Renewed in 2 Days
According to the report by Al-Qabas Daily, the Residence Affairs Department in the six governorates reportedly renewed around 12,000 residence permits without stickers of domestic workers in just two days – in compliance with the new rules and regulations with what authorities describe “with ease and speed.” Authorities also shared that the system is well in place and works efficiently, as expected.
This can also be attributed to the fact that the scrapping of the need for the iqama (residency sticker) has significantly expedited this immigration process.
Based on the report, the said transactions were completed by the Farwaniya and Capital governorates.
Furthermore, those who were able to complete their transactions at the department were given a printout containing their residence data, which also bears the sign and stamp from the department to proceed to the Public Authority for Civil Information for the same day issuance of their Civil ID card.
This development would not have been possible without the government’s vision to transition into electronic transactions for the benefit of its residents – both citizens and expats. This has been an emerging (and timely) move on the part of the Kuwaiti government as most countries in the world are in step with the globalization process taking place as of this time.